


Heartbreak Weather

by nightsofsilver



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Ambiguous/Open Ending, Angst with a Happy Ending, Friends With Benefits, Heartbreak, Implied Sexual Content, Kinda, M/M, Summer Camp
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-07
Updated: 2020-08-07
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:34:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,143
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25769758
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nightsofsilver/pseuds/nightsofsilver
Summary: Chan tries his best to get over his recent heartbreak, but it isn't as easy as he thought it would be. Luckily, he doesn't have to do it alone.
Relationships: Kwon Soonyoung | Hoshi/Lee Chan | Dino
Comments: 8
Kudos: 26





	Heartbreak Weather

**Author's Note:**

> For Sam Kam and Mel<3
> 
> [Dancing With a Stranger](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=av5JD1dfj_c) \- Sam Smith

Chan looks around at the bare dorm room for the last time, Vernon dropping his key into Chan’s outstretched palm. 

“What’s with the long face?” Vernon asks. 

“Aren’t you happy exams are over and we get a few months off?” 

“I mean, of course, but I’ll still miss hanging out in here with you and everyone else.” 

Vernon’s expression softens and he wraps an arm around Chan’s shoulders. 

“Aw, I’ll miss you too. Keep in touch okay? It’s just three months, we’ll be back in here before you know it.” 

Chan nods, trying to hold back the wave of emotion that suddenly crashes over him. 

“I know I know, it’s just everyone seems to be going away for the summer except for me.” 

“Oh please, Seunghceol-hyung is still sticking around and I’m sure he’ll find a way to bother you into going out with him at least once a week.” 

“Okay okay you’re right I’ll stop being overdramatic.” 

Vernon lets him go and Chan follows him out of their shared dorm room and down the stairs. Vernon’s dad is sitting in his car out front and he waves a hand to both boys as they step out of the building. Vernon turns towards Chan, “I know you’re still a little beat up about it, but try to have some fun at your new job and don’t just sit inside alone every night okay?” 

“Don’t worry about it,” Chan replies, “I’ll be fine.” 

Vernon nods, throwing his backpack into the backseat and climbing in next to his dad. 

“Bye Chan-ah!” 

“Bye Vernon-hyung!” 

Chan sighs as Vernon’s dad pulls away from the curb, turning left and walking out of campus towards the nearest bus station. By the time he arrives at the apartment he is renting for the summer the sun is starting to set and he rummages around in his fridge for some leftovers to eat. He falls asleep in front of the TV and wakes up to his alarm with a very stiff neck. After a shower and a cup of coffee he is feeling far more awake and on his way to his first day of work in no time. 

The bright sun high overhead leaves him in a cheerful mood by the time he arrives at a tiny school in the corner of the city. He ought to thank his older brother for making him watch his kids all the time when he was younger because that’s probably one of the main reasons he landed this job at a summer program, though maybe having a half-complete nursing degree hadn’t hurt his chances much either. 

As he walks into the building and down a long hall he’s suddenly greeted by a familiar barrage of bright colors, pictures, toys, and kids milling around in a large area that must have once been the school’s cafeteria. Chan had already gone through a few days of training and gotten to know a few other members of the staff, nodding to Mingyu as he clocks in for the day. Before he can get very far an unfamiliar face jumps into his path, stretching out a hand. 

“Hello,” the boy says, “I’m Kwon Soonyoung.” 

The boy has blond hair, glittering eyes, and some of the squishiest cheeks Chan has ever seen. If it wasn’t for the word staff in bold letters across the front of his shirt and the fact that the boy has an inch or two of height of Chan he would assume he was one of the older kids enrolled in the program. Chan breaks his gaze away from the boy’s face (he has to hold himself back from reaching out to poke the boy’s cheeks) and bows his head politely. 

“My name is Lee Chan, I’m guessing you’re a part of the staff, but i don’t remember seeing you around during training.” 

Soonyoung nods, “Yeah, I’ve actually been working here for quite a few years and so the boss let me skip training to visit some family for a few days.” 

“Ah, well it’s nice to meet you Soonyoung-ssi.” 

“You too Chan-ah, see you around!” 

The boy dashes off after that, joining a group of kids on the far side of the room trying to put together a giant puzzle on the floor. Chan introduces himself to a few kids and convinces a quiet nine year-old to play a round of Go Fish with him. The kids all split up into groups later on, only joining together for lunch and again at the end of the day. 

As the days pass Chan starts to grow more comfortable with the kids and the other staff members and it’s easy to see why all of them decided on this kind of job. Mingyu is a favorite with the younger kids who beg him to give them a ride on his broad shoulders nearly every day. Jeonghan is always out on the playground playing soccer or catch with some of the older kids and he’ll let younger kids sit on his lap while he teaches them how to play checkers or card games. 

Wonwoo isn’t as loud and excitable as say, Mingyu, but it’s impossible not to notice how the little corner of the play room with soft chairs and a stack of books fills up when Wonwoo sits down to read aloud. And of course, there’s Soonyoung. It seems like every kid loves Soonyoung. He has enough energy to play tag for an hour and then jump right into a session of arts and crafts, then lead a game of sharks and minnows, all before lunch time. Chan finds it rather endearing how Soonyoung will let the kids dress him up in princess dresses and complete with a magic wand and set of heels and have him parade around the room casting spells on every staff member in sight. 

He tries his best to emulate Soonyoung’s boundless energy and patience and Chan thinks he’s actually not half bad at this job. Thankfully work keeps him pretty busy most days and when he’s not collapsed tiredly on the couch after a long day of wrangling a bunch of six to twelve year olds Seungcheol calls him up and practically drags him out of his apartment to go out for dinner or watch or movie. They always manage to make him smile when nothing else can and even when he’s feeling down he appreciates the company. 

Still, there are some days where he does nothing but sit on the couch and stare blankly at the TV, watching his and Jiwoo’s last fight play over and over in his head. He eats way too much ice cream on nights like those and by the time he wakes up in the morning it’s nothing but a bad memory. After a few weeks he feels good enough to download to Grindr, but Chan immediately deletes it after he starts getting more pictures of people’s dicks than actual messages. 

Going out on his own isn’t something he’s used to anymore, but one Friday night Chan says fuck it, grabs his wallet and heads out the door. He has no idea where he is going and ends up picking a random restaurant close by that has semi-good ratings. He walks into the restaurant and sighs as he sees the entrance is already full of people. 

“This is what I get for not making a reservation,” he mutters to himself, trying to peer over the shoulders of the person in front of him and see how many people are waiting ahead of him. He stands up on his tipe-toes, losing his balance and bumping into the man in front of him. 

“Oh my gosh I’m so sorr-” Chan blinks, shocked as his co-worker Mingyu turns around and smiles down at him. 

“Oh hey Chan!” 

“Hi.” 

The two boys on either side of Mingyu turn around and it’s Wonwoo and Soonyoung. A bright smile spreads over Soonyoung’s face and he laughs. 

“Well this is a nice surprise. Did you come here all by yourself?” 

Chan nods, “Yeah, I just suddenly decided to go out to eat and picked the first place that sounded good.” 

Mingyu quickly looks back and forth between Wonwoo and Soonyoung. 

“Do you guys mind if Chan-ah joins us? I mean, if you want to, that is.” 

Chan immediately protests, “Oh no, I wouldn’t want to be a bother, really.” 

“Nonsense!” says Soonyoung, “we’d love for you to join us, we’re all friends here.” 

Mingyu and Wonwoo nod enthusiastically. 

Chan sighs in defeat, “Well, if you’re sure.” 

“Of course we are,” Soonyoung replies, grabbing Chan’s arm and tugging him along as the host calls out Mingyu’s name. The host escorts them to a small table against the far wall of the restaurant, Wonwoo and Mingyu sitting down together on one side and leaving Chan to sit next to Soonyoung. At this point Chan is so hungry that he just picks the first thing off the menu that sounds good. He glances around the table and sees Mingyu and Wonwoo staring intently at their own menus, but when he turns his head to glance over at Soonyoung the older boy is tapping away at his phone. Chan’s gaze drops to Soonyoung’s arm and he is intrigued by the large number of wristbands in various sizes and colors he finds there. 

“What are all those?” 

Soonyoung looks up from his phone. 

“Hmm? Oh, my bracelets? Well some are from things I like.” 

He lifts his arm and points to a red wristband with yellow and blue lettering. 

“This is a SHINee bracelet.” 

He points to another wristband further down, this one a bright teal color. 

“This one too. Here’s a wristband from a festival I went to a few months ago, and these were all made for me by the kids.” 

Soonyoung gestures to a row of braided leather straps and beaded bracelets with a smile. 

“That’s cute,” Chan says, “they all really like you huh?” 

Soonyoung smiles softly, “I mean, I guess a few do.” 

“Oh c’mon, every single one of those kids absolutely adores you and you know it.” 

It’s altogether too cute in Chan’s opinion when Soonyoung’s face lights up with a bright smile at the statement, his cheeks turning pink. 

“Alright alright, I can admit I’m a pretty popular counselor.” 

Chan nods in satisfaction as a waiter steps up to the table, asking if they are all ready to order. The rest of the dinner passes by in a flurry of good food and murmured conversations. Wonwoo looks tired and can barely keep up a conversation with Mingyu --who is rambling on about all the different literature teachers he’s had over the years-- much less anyone else, and so Soonyoung and Chan end up talking amongst themselves for most of the night. This is the first time he’s had a conversation with Soonyoung that’s lasted longer than a few minutes and the older boy is a lot funnier than he expected him to be. 

Soonyoung is also really touchy, something at first Chan had just assumed was normal for him, but after the fifth “accidental” brush of their hands and the slight color to Soonyoung’s cheeks Chan concludes that Soonyoung is _definitely_ flirting with him. God Chan can’t even remember that last time someone flirted with him. He’s never really thought about it before, but Chan has to admit the older boy is more than a little attractive, and when Soonyoung smiles brightly at Chan’s rather lame joke the younger boy concludes he really is kind of cute too. 

So, he smiles back whenever Soonyoung glances in his direction, takes a few extra sips of soju, and doesn’t fight the blush that settles on his cheeks when Soonyoung leans in to whisper something in his ear. Chan is feeling warm and sleepy by the time they’ve paid for their food and are standing up to leave. Mingyu and Wonwoo decide to take a cab back to their shared apartment, leaving Chan and Soonyoung to slowly make their way to the nearest bus stop, hands close but not quite touching as they walk side by side. 

“Tonight was fun.” Soonyoung suddenly says, rounding a corner with Chan hot on his heels. 

“We should talk more, you know, besides just occasionally at work.” 

A random burst of courage compels Chan to draw his phone out of his pocket. 

“Here, let’s trade numbers.” 

Soonyoung takes his phone with a smile, quickly adding his number to Chan’s contacts. 

“It was nice to hang out with you guys,” Chan says as he takes his phone back and slips it into his pocket. 

“It seems like all of my friends ended up going back home for the summer.” 

“That’s too bad,” Soonyoung replies, “but you’ve got us now!” The brightly lit bus stop shines up in the distance and Chan grows a little sad at the thought that they will both have to go their separate ways soon. Chan busies himself with studying the list of bus numbers and times printed on the back wall of the bus stop as they both wait for their respective rides. 

“Hey Chan,” Soonyoung murmurs and Chan turns around to find the older boy slumped against the far wall, hands shoved in his pockets and staring at Chan with an unreadable expression on his face. 

Chan steps closer to him, “What is it?” 

Wordlessly Soonyoung reaches out a hand and grabs his arm, pulling him closer until he’s crowding Soonyoung back against the clear plastic walls. Chan lets himself be drawn into Soonyoung’s personal space until they are mere inches apart. It’s quiet, so quiet that Chan can hear the rapid thump of his heartbeat echoing faintly in his ears. Time seems to slow as Soonyoung’s gaze drops down to Chan’s lips for the briefest of seconds, a thousand questions (or maybe just one) in his eyes as he leans in. 

His body decides what to do before his brain does and Chan closes the distance in between them, his eyes fluttering shut. The first kiss is hesitant, their lips barely touching. With the reassurance of mutual interest the second kiss feels more confident, both of them pressing against each other. One of Chan’s hands shyly curls around the back of Soonyoung’s neck and he sighs a little into the kiss. In reality it hasn’t been that long, but Chan had almost forgotten how _nice_ it felt to be kissed. 

Love and affection had been replaced by silent glares and screaming matches at the end of his and Jiwoo’s relationship, so this simple act of affection and desire feels like a breath of fresh air compared to what Chan is used to. Perhaps that was the wrong thing to think about because as Soonyoung tilts his head back to deepen the kiss it suddenly feels like a switch has been flipped in Chan’s brain. He opens his eyes and freezes, the sight of Soonyoung’s blond hair feeling unfamiliar and _wrong_. Chan feels uneasy, his mind unhelpfully pulling up hundreds of memories of Jiwoo’s lips pressed against his, his hands tangled in her long dark hair, her hands- 

“Chan?” 

Soonyoung has noticed his distress by now, has pulled away and is looking at him in concern. Chan’s hands are trembling as he lets go of Soonyoung and they automatically come up to wrap around himself. 

“What’s wrong?” Soonyoung asks. 

“I-I… I don’t think I can do this.” 

“Did I do something? Was I going too-” 

Chan shakes his head quickly, cutting Soonyoung off. 

“No no no, it’s not you, you’re fine. It’s, it’s my fault.” 

The look on Soonyoung’s face just makes him feel worse because it was going great until his brain decided to ruin everything. He struggles to find the words to explain, blinking rapidly as a pair of bright headlights come into view behind Soonyoung. Chan shivers, suddenly cold. 

“I thought I was okay…” he murmurs to himself. Soonyoung reaches out to him again but Chan tenses and backs away. He doesn’t _deserve_ to be comforted by Soonyoung right now. 

“I’m sorry. I think I should just go.” 

The bus slows to a stop right in front of the bus stop. 

“I’m sorry,” Chan whispers again, unsure if Soonyoung can even hear him. He turns around and stumbles towards the bus, scanning his transit card and collapsing into the first empty seat he finds. Blinking back tears Chan looks back at the rear bus window and sees Soonyoung standing alone under the bright lights of the bus stop. The sight makes his heart ache and he turns away to bury his face in his hands.

~~~~~

The next morning Chan has a pounding headache. He’s not sure if it’s from the alcohol or the crying but either way the only cure he can administer is several glasses of water and a few pain pills. By the time Monday rolls around he’s feeling a lot better, at least until he sees Soonyoung again. The older boy is in the middle of a large group of kids who are watching him set up a toy race track. Chan does his best to avoid him all day, using the kids around him as an excuse to stay preoccupied. 

It manages to keep Soonyoung away, or the older boy is actively ignoring him, but there is nothing stopping Chan’s gaze from drifting towards the older boy more often than he’d like to admit. Later on in the day when everyone is outside on the playground Soonyoung organizes a game of kickball while Chan pushes a few younger kids on the large swingset on the playground. It’s a hot day out and most kids have piled their jackets in a pile in the corner of the field, Soonyoung’s bright blue hoodie mixed in with the assorted outerwear garments. 

After a few rounds of kickball that eventually descend into a wildly chaotic game of tag, Soonyoung taps out and lets another counselor take his place. He walks over near the swingset and grabs his bottle of water, tipping his head back and swallowing down nearly half its contents in one go. Chan is pushing the little girl on the swing in front of him and she screams at him to push her higher as Soonyoung lifts up the edge of his shirt to wipe the sweat off of his face. His mind goes blank as the action reveals the smooth expanse of Soonyoung’s stomach and he swallows thickly as his eyes trace over the vague outline of Soonyoung’s abs, the curve of his hip bone, and the sharp v-line drawing his eyes further downwards. 

Soonyoung must feel Chan’s gaze burning into him because he looks up, straight into Chan’s eyes. Chan stands there, frozen and red in the face until the little girl on the swing nearly slams into him and he’s forced to divert his attention back to her. When he looks up again Soonyoung is gone and Chan silently curses himself for thinking with his dick instead of his brain. He manages to get a hold of himself after that, keeping his attention firmly focused on whatever kid is in front of him and _not_ on Soonyoung. At the end of the day all the kids head home and Chan finds himself standing in a circle of camp staff as their boss organizes various clean-up crews. 

“Chanie can come with me,” a familiar voice suddenly says. He looks up to see Soonyoung gesturing towards him and his boss nodding in agreement. Chan can’t think of any reason to refuse and his boss dismisses them all off to their duties. He trails after Soonyoung, a roll of paper towels and a spray bottle held in his hands. They quickly reach the art room and they both sigh in unison when they see the paint splatters on the tables and walls. They work in silence for about fifteen minutes before Soonyoung stands up and turns towards him. 

“So about Friday night.” 

Chan winces and stands up from where he had been crouching on the floor, scrubbing away at a mysterious fuschia stain. He forces himself to actually _look_ at Soonyoung, surprised when he doesn’t find anger in his gaze, only confusion and concern. 

“I’m sorry,” Chan says, unsure how to explain what had happened. 

“Yeah, but what are you sorry for?” Soonyoung replies. 

“I just want to understand what went wrong.” 

Chan hesitates, fiddling with the spray bottle in his hands. 

“I went through a bad break-up at the end of the school year,” he says after a long moment of silence. 

“I was a bit upset for awhile, but I seemed to be getting over it and this job really helped a lot too. It’s not that I don’t like you, because I do! I’m just not really ready for a relationship again.” 

Soonyoung nods, “I see. What about earlier today then?” 

Chan flushes at the question. 

“I did say I still liked you. I guess what I’m really sorry for is sending you mixed signals and for ruining your Friday night.” 

Soonyoung waves his hand dismissively, “Apology accepted.” 

That was it then? Chan had honestly been expecting a little more tears and screaming before this was all over. 

“But...” Soonyoung starts to say, slowly walking towards Chan. 

“When did either of us say anything about being in a relationship hmm?” 

Chan rubs a hand behind his head sheepishly, “Well, I just mean I’m not ready to have feelings for someone again.” 

Soonyoung stops, only a few inches of space now left between them. 

“You don’t have to have feelings for someone to be in a relationship with them you know.” 

Chan stares at Soonyoung in confusion. 

“It just depends on the _type_ of relationship you want. Your problem is you think you need to have one hundred percent of me but aren’t ready to handle that yet. I assume there is mutually attraction here,” --Chan nods as Soonyoung looks up at him-- “but we hardly know or want to know each other well enough to be in a romantic relationship. Thus, if you’d like to, we can just be friends.” 

Chan is still a little confused as Soonyoung seemed to be building up to a bigger declaration than that. 

“Just friends?” 

“Extra special friends,” Soonyoung says with a smirk, “if you catch my drift.” Not boyfriends, but just friends, who are attracted to each other… Understanding suddenly dawns on Chan and he coughs awkwardly into his sleeve. 

“Oh, you mean like… that.” 

“If that’s not your kind of thing that’s fine,” Soonyoung says with a shrug. It definitely isn’t something Chan does very often, preferring an actual relationship over anything strictly casual, but it’s obvious Chan can’t handle having a romantic partner right now and he’s being offered this one chance to keep Soonyoung in his life. There is something about the older boy that makes it hard to stay away from him and makes Chan want to know more about him. While considering all these things Soonyoung must take Chan’s continued silence as a sign of rejection because he starts to turn away. Quickly Chan reaches out to grab his wrist. 

“No.” 

“No?” Soonyoung repeats, turning back to look down at him. 

“No, it is my kind of thing. Well sometimes. So, uh, I’d like to try it out. Yeah.” 

Soonyoung grins, “Well glad that’s all cleared up then.” Chan releases him and Soonyoung’s arms instantly come up to rest on Chan’s shoulders. 

“You know what?” Soonyoung whispers, eyes dropping down to Chan’s lips. 

“What?” Chan whispers back, equally as quiet. “If we aren’t dating then we aren’t breaking any workplace policies.” 

“Oh,” Chan replies, wrapping his hands gently around Soonyoung’s waist. 

“Well that’s good I guess.” 

Soonyoung hums in agreement, inching closer until his mouth hovers just above Chan’s. 

“Can I kiss you Chan-ah?” 

“Yes.” 

Chan whispers back and Soonyoung immediately presses forward, closing the last bit of distance left between them. It’s soft and gentle for exactly three seconds and then Sooyoung’s hand is tangled in his hair, pressing him closer as he licks into Chan’s mouth. Chan can barely keep up, Soonyoung’s hands, lips, and tongue all fighting for his attention at once. All of a sudden Soonyoung pulls away, acting like he didn’t just kiss Chan breathless and gesturing to the room around them. 

“Well c’mon, this room isn’t going to clean itself.” 

He spins around on his heel and walks over to the pile of cleaning supplies as Chan takes a deep breath in, letting it out with a sigh as he feels his heart rate start to go down. Once he’s sufficiently recovered Chan picks up the spray bottle, returning to the mysterious fuchsia stain that seems to resist all his efforts to destroy it.

**Author's Note:**

> My friends and I decided to all suggest different svt pairings and drabble ideas and randomly mix them up and assign a story and ship to each person, I ended up getting soonchan + summer fling and this is what came of it. Perhaps this fic deserves 1k of steamy smut but I don't have the time or motivation to write that rn, hope you enjoy anyway!
> 
> title from Heartbreak Weather - Niall Horan
> 
> find me on [twt](https://twitter.com/nightsofsilver)


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